Gay Boys At Risk For Suicide

April 13, 1998|By SANDRA G. BOODMAN The Washington Post

Gay and bisexual teen-age boys are significantly more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual counterparts, according to researchers at the University of Minnesota who analyzed data from a study of more than 36,000 middle- and high-school students.

Gary Remafedi of the University of Minnesota's department of pediatrics and his colleagues analyzed answers to questions about sexual orientation and sexual activity contained in the 1987 Adolescent Health Survey, a statewide questionnaire administered to all public-school students in grades 7 through 12.

Remafedi and his colleagues randomly selected 394 youths _ 212 boys and 182 girls _ who described themselves as homosexual or bisexual. They were matched with 336 heterosexual students. The frequency of suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts was then compared.

Researchers found that 28.1 percent of boys who identified themselves as gay or bisexual reported making at least one suicide attempt, compared to 20.5 percent of girls who identified themselves as lesbians, 14.5 percent of heterosexual females and 4.2 percent of heterosexual males.

Remafedi and his coauthors, whose finding was reported in the January issue of the American Journal of Public Health, advise doctors to consider sexual orientation as a factor in making a clinical assessment about whether a youth is a suicide risk.